Jonny Howson missed the 0-0 draw at Sunderland with a back problem sustained in training, while Hughton made the decision to rest Russell Martin for the trip as he has been struggling with an ankle knock.

Next up for Norwich is Fulham before games against Manchester United and Crystal Palace in the space of the six days that follow and Hughton is unsure how long Howson will be sidelined.

"It is a real blow for Jonny and us," he told reporters. "He felt his back in training during the week. We were hoping he was going to be okay, so we'll have to assess it over the next day or so.

"As we know, he's just signed a new deal and he was playing as well as he has done in my time here. It's stretching us in that midfield area but we'll find out in the next couple of days."

With a congested fixture schedule looming, Hughton had to take precautions with Martin's fitness.

"Russell has felt his ankle of late," added Hughton. "It's very minimal, he wasn't going to start [on Saturday] and we made the decision to rest him for the game.

"He'll be available for Boxing Day and the 28th, it was either put him on the bench or rest him and we chose to rest him."